It's almost 9 PM today, and it's still 82 degrees, down from 90. And it will be hotter tomorrow. Not much to do but ...
1. Read about the storms of the last two days. We got 5 inches of rain in about 36 hours, wind that took down tree limbs and the steeple of the Presbyterian Church, and thunder/lightning.
2. Roast coffee beans at home. I just got my shipment of beans from Sweet Maria's, and have roasted and cupped (that's roaster lingo for tasting) two out of the three beans I bought:
Ethiopian Kochere District Yirgacheffe: Roasted to City Roast; perhaps could have roasted it a bit darker. Tastes citrusy and lively; I could drink this all summer!
Costa Rican Tarrazu La Minita: Roasted again to barely City Roast; I am trying to get the hang of home-roasting. I thought this was mild, almost too mild, but I did get a hint of apples and an aftertaste that was a little dark.
How am I roasting coffee at home? you might ask. Strangely enough, you can roast enough beans for one cup at a time in the right kind of air popper . The average air popper takes on enough berries for a good cup of freshly-brewed coffee using a Senseo machine and either Eco Pads or the Presto MyPod .
Talk about fresh coffee! This is some of the most unbelieveable stuff I've ever tasted. It's more like drinking wine -- the nuances of flavor are amazing, even with cream and sweetener (as I am prone to drinking coffee). I would like to try the third coffee I bought -- Rwandan Butare Bourbon -- but, umm, I need to sleep tonight!
Thursday, August 09, 2007
Sunday, August 05, 2007
We're Not Missing ... Really We're Not
Hi all,
I know we're a bit behind on regular postings, but that's because there isn't that much going on with us right now. We're staying in from the heat, and our normal walking schedule has been curtailed a bit because of it, but we're doing our best to stay indoors and keep cool. It's not anywhere as bad as it was last summer (when we were staying indoors due to the extended 100 degree days), but it's still bad enough to discourage going outdoors for any length of time. We're hoping that it a)cools down, and b)finally manages to rain here. It seems like in the last couple of weeks that any rain we've promised by the forecasters either goes north of us up into Iowa, or south of us, between St. Joe and Kansas City. We are hoping that the forecasters are correct about the next few days.
It's just as well; Lauren's in academic mode, doing syllabi's, setting up schedules in Outlook, and getting ready for the coming semester, which starts in two weeks (we just did the annual "clean the office" ritual earlier this afternoon). At the moment, she's indulging in her love of all things coffee; our regular coffee grinder died last weekend, so Friday night at Sams, we picked up a Cuisinart Burr grinder they had on the clearance rack for $30.00. Now that we have something which can do fresh-ground coffee en mass, she's looking at what it takes to home roast coffee beans.
Meanwhile, everything is quiet in town; with the college between semesters, there isn't much activity apart from the few students who are arriving early to move and get settled in.
Things will pick up later on, with a couple of road trips to Kansas City for the Race for the Cure 4k run/walk (we're walking, obviously), and later in September, we're hoping to do a couple of trips down to the KC RenFaire: one to see our fellow church-goers Channing and Louise Horner participate in a Renaissance music quartet (they both play recorder), and the other, a meet-up with Micah (and hopefully his family, too).
It doesn't look like we're going to get up to Des Moines for the State Fair this year, but we hope to get up to there on some weekend this Fall to visit, do some shopping, and also indulge in some of our favorite restaurants (Adong and possibly Cookry over by the Drake area on the way out of town).
I know we're a bit behind on regular postings, but that's because there isn't that much going on with us right now. We're staying in from the heat, and our normal walking schedule has been curtailed a bit because of it, but we're doing our best to stay indoors and keep cool. It's not anywhere as bad as it was last summer (when we were staying indoors due to the extended 100 degree days), but it's still bad enough to discourage going outdoors for any length of time. We're hoping that it a)cools down, and b)finally manages to rain here. It seems like in the last couple of weeks that any rain we've promised by the forecasters either goes north of us up into Iowa, or south of us, between St. Joe and Kansas City. We are hoping that the forecasters are correct about the next few days.
It's just as well; Lauren's in academic mode, doing syllabi's, setting up schedules in Outlook, and getting ready for the coming semester, which starts in two weeks (we just did the annual "clean the office" ritual earlier this afternoon). At the moment, she's indulging in her love of all things coffee; our regular coffee grinder died last weekend, so Friday night at Sams, we picked up a Cuisinart Burr grinder they had on the clearance rack for $30.00. Now that we have something which can do fresh-ground coffee en mass, she's looking at what it takes to home roast coffee beans.
Meanwhile, everything is quiet in town; with the college between semesters, there isn't much activity apart from the few students who are arriving early to move and get settled in.
Things will pick up later on, with a couple of road trips to Kansas City for the Race for the Cure 4k run/walk (we're walking, obviously), and later in September, we're hoping to do a couple of trips down to the KC RenFaire: one to see our fellow church-goers Channing and Louise Horner participate in a Renaissance music quartet (they both play recorder), and the other, a meet-up with Micah (and hopefully his family, too).
It doesn't look like we're going to get up to Des Moines for the State Fair this year, but we hope to get up to there on some weekend this Fall to visit, do some shopping, and also indulge in some of our favorite restaurants (Adong and possibly Cookry over by the Drake area on the way out of town).
Saturday, July 28, 2007
Lauren's Simpsons Avatar
Not to be left behind, I made my avatar...now all I need is my walking poles.
Friday, July 27, 2007
Simpsons Avatar
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Home Again, Home Again
Just an FYI ... Lauren's back from the mission trip; we'll have a longer posting with pictures sometime later in the week ... but for now, we've just been getting reacquainted after being apart for a week, which, if anyone is counting, is the longest time we've spent apart since I moved down here. And we've got better things planned, like going to see the new Harry Potter movie and heading to the county fair this weekend.
Sunday, July 15, 2007
The Week's Gone By Rather Quickly ...
Literally; it seems just last Sunday when Woodgie left for South Dakota, and left me to fend for myself with the kitties. Now it's the Sunday following, and after a week's worth of house cleaning, laundry, a couple of household projects, and getting used to having the whole bed to myself, keeping up with the daily walks (except for those days when it got too darn hot, requiring me to head to the campus fitness center), it's still felt a little strange, given that in the space of a week, we've only talked a total of 5 minutes due to the lack of cell coverage up there.
Still, it sounds like she had a great time up there. Meanwhile, I managed to do something new ... something that my middle sis would have a good laugh about. Growing up, one of the career alternatives that Dad always thought I should try was to enter the seminary and become a Lutheran minister (hah!). To be honest, I wasn't sure if that was a direction I wanted my life to go in.
Now, 38 years later, here I am leading a morning worship service as an officiant and delivering a sermon that I wrote myself ... it's a rather scary feeling, but a heady one, too. Granted, I've participated in dozens of services over the last couple of years at former churches as a praise team singer and soloist, but never as "the leader". At least it went well, without any hitches, and quite a few people liked the sermon that I wrote. All in all, not bad for a first time for it.
Still, it sounds like she had a great time up there. Meanwhile, I managed to do something new ... something that my middle sis would have a good laugh about. Growing up, one of the career alternatives that Dad always thought I should try was to enter the seminary and become a Lutheran minister (hah!). To be honest, I wasn't sure if that was a direction I wanted my life to go in.
Now, 38 years later, here I am leading a morning worship service as an officiant and delivering a sermon that I wrote myself ... it's a rather scary feeling, but a heady one, too. Granted, I've participated in dozens of services over the last couple of years at former churches as a praise team singer and soloist, but never as "the leader". At least it went well, without any hitches, and quite a few people liked the sermon that I wrote. All in all, not bad for a first time for it.
Sunday, July 08, 2007
Back to the Single Life for a Little While ...
At least, until Woodgie comes back from South Dakota, that is.
Oh well, I've got plenty to keep me busy ... now if only it would cool down so I can do the touch-up painting on the house.
Oh well, I've got plenty to keep me busy ... now if only it would cool down so I can do the touch-up painting on the house.
Thursday, July 05, 2007
4th of July
With the plant closed for the 4th, Lauren done with her second summer class, and the Solstice gathering shelved, Lauren and I were finally able to camp out this summer, which was nice because neither one of us had been to the Mozingo Lake rec area east of town for a campout (actually, Lauren has been there before; she just hasn't camped there before).
We set out Tuesday evening for the lake, managing to grab one of the last tent campsites available in a nice shaded spot not too far from the campground entrance and about a mile from the visitor center. After unloading the car, pitching the tent, filling the air mattress, and setting up the grill (not to mention letting Woodgie nap for a little bit), we embarked on dinner, which we'd mapped out late last week. Although I've grilled before, I hadn't done small grill/charcoal grilling in awhile. I hate to admit it, but I don't have my Man Scout merit badge in starting a charcoal grill; fortunately, Kingsford has come up with these "light the bag and walk away" BBQ in a bag charcoal packs, which work wonderfully.
Dinner that evening was grilled Chicken Sate (Thai version, using a set of Thai-spice skewers we found at Hy-Vee, with a little bit of Indonesian gado gado substituting for the usual peanut sauce), a cucumber-onion salad, and some grilled fruit (pineapple and melon) with yogurt dip for dessert:
Following dinner, we went for a walk from the campsite up to the visitor's center, where we discovered that (amazingly) one of the cabins near the lake was open (last year they were all booked). We also picked up some camping supplies (we'd forgotten to pack some dish soap, among other things). Woodgie also found time to visit with the neighbors at the campsite and, in one case, find a new friend:
The following morning found us waking early to the sound of thunder; concerned that we might get rained on, we quickly packed up the tent and chairs into the car. Later, after realizing that we weren't going to get rained on, we unloaded the lounge chairs with the new camp stove we got among our wedding presents and proceeded to make breakfast: instant oatmeal and fresh coffee made in Woodgie's stovetop espresso pot:
After breakfast, Lauren went for a walk, while I ended up finding a nearby electrical outlet so I could charge my phone, which was almost out of juice. Later that morning, with the sun coming out (too much for our tastes), we ditched the campsite in favor of a small shelter near the lake itself, which featured shade and the possibility of a great view of the fireworks later that evening, as well as a great view of the lake. As the shelter also had a grill, that allowed us to continue our holiday feasting: grilled veggies with the remainder of the gado gado peanut sauce and the remainder of the cucumber salad for lunch, and later for dinner, hot dogs, grilled corn, and more grilled fruit.
We also got to watch the fireworks crew set up the displays, which they tested with a couple of dry (no firework loaded) powder charges in the afternoon:
Alas, staying for the fireworks wasn't to be: right after dinner, Woodgie discovered that despite her best efforts, she'd gotten a little sunburned and wasn't feeling well (and I didn't blame her, because the temps had gotten into the mid 90s that afternoon), so we called it an evening about 7:30, packed up the cooler, and headed home for the cooler comfort of the indoors.
Sunday, July 01, 2007
The Great Outdoors, Part 2
Another weekend again finds Lauren and myself outside in the back yard after a busy weekend, with a citronella candle sitting between our lounge chairs; Lauren's working on a quiz/lesson for her summer class, while I'm surfing and chatting, with fireflies flickering around both of us.
This is the weekend that we would have been in Des Moines, for a solstice gathering and small second wedding reception that two of my friends were throwing, but there wasn't enough response from everyone, so both it and the solstice gathering got cancelled. It peeves me a little that two of my friends wanted to do something really nice for us, and hardly anyone up there responded to the RSVPs, making their efforts for naught. I mean, it is summer, and everyone does have busy schedules, but c'mon people ... what gives??? To quote Stan Lee: "Nuff' said".
Anyhoo, we had a great and productive time this weekend anyway. After another 8.5 mile walk out to Gray's and back on Saturday, we spent the afternoon doing some planning and yard work ... mainly planning for the 4th of July, some shopping for groceries for that campout, some hoping that the weather on the 4th stays pleasant enough that we don't get rained out, and also some more yard work, which will lead into several nice additions to the back and side yards.
Friday afternoon, we rented a tiller and did some bedding prep for what will become "the kitty garden", or the 3rd corner garden to go with the rose garden and lily garden at each corner of the property and create a "virtual border" for the lawn.
For a little backstory, last summer Lauren and I had brainstormed what "theme" we wanted for the next corner garden, and I suggested doing a "kitty" garden, with pussywillows, catnip, and some cat-themed decorations. Then, after our cat "Kitty" passed away last February, we decided that we'd also add a small memorial marker for her, too. We'll probably hold off on planting until fall, but the seedbed will be ready by then. Lauren also did some relocation of her day lillies and some of the peonies, which cleaned up some of the clutter by the street.
Last night, we started another leftover project from last summer, burning out an old tree stump near the street, and that is now turning into another "nice to have" item, too; we've decided that we're going to turn the former stump space into a small firepit area, so tomorrow, we'll be getting a trunkload of paving stones and a bag of sand to assemble that. It will cost us about the same as an average-grade portable firepit from Wal-Mart, but we think doing it this way will let it blend in with the rest of the yard decorations. Since the location is out by the street, it's plenty far enough from the house for safety purposes, and when it's done, we'll not only have a decorative place to use as a conversation and cooking pit for later in the fall, but we'll also have a place to do junk branch and leftover garden plant burns as well. It's a pity that the closest of my friends lives an hour and a half away, and some of Lauren's friends live even farther away .... we could put the conversation pit to good use.
This is the weekend that we would have been in Des Moines, for a solstice gathering and small second wedding reception that two of my friends were throwing, but there wasn't enough response from everyone, so both it and the solstice gathering got cancelled. It peeves me a little that two of my friends wanted to do something really nice for us, and hardly anyone up there responded to the RSVPs, making their efforts for naught. I mean, it is summer, and everyone does have busy schedules, but c'mon people ... what gives??? To quote Stan Lee: "Nuff' said".
Anyhoo, we had a great and productive time this weekend anyway. After another 8.5 mile walk out to Gray's and back on Saturday, we spent the afternoon doing some planning and yard work ... mainly planning for the 4th of July, some shopping for groceries for that campout, some hoping that the weather on the 4th stays pleasant enough that we don't get rained out, and also some more yard work, which will lead into several nice additions to the back and side yards.
Friday afternoon, we rented a tiller and did some bedding prep for what will become "the kitty garden", or the 3rd corner garden to go with the rose garden and lily garden at each corner of the property and create a "virtual border" for the lawn.
For a little backstory, last summer Lauren and I had brainstormed what "theme" we wanted for the next corner garden, and I suggested doing a "kitty" garden, with pussywillows, catnip, and some cat-themed decorations. Then, after our cat "Kitty" passed away last February, we decided that we'd also add a small memorial marker for her, too. We'll probably hold off on planting until fall, but the seedbed will be ready by then. Lauren also did some relocation of her day lillies and some of the peonies, which cleaned up some of the clutter by the street.
Last night, we started another leftover project from last summer, burning out an old tree stump near the street, and that is now turning into another "nice to have" item, too; we've decided that we're going to turn the former stump space into a small firepit area, so tomorrow, we'll be getting a trunkload of paving stones and a bag of sand to assemble that. It will cost us about the same as an average-grade portable firepit from Wal-Mart, but we think doing it this way will let it blend in with the rest of the yard decorations. Since the location is out by the street, it's plenty far enough from the house for safety purposes, and when it's done, we'll not only have a decorative place to use as a conversation and cooking pit for later in the fall, but we'll also have a place to do junk branch and leftover garden plant burns as well. It's a pity that the closest of my friends lives an hour and a half away, and some of Lauren's friends live even farther away .... we could put the conversation pit to good use.
Saturday, June 23, 2007
The Great Outdoors
Just a quick weekend post: I'm typing this underneath the shade tree in our back yard, where Lauren and I are enjoying the benefits of mobile computing, sitting on our Wal-Mart special lounge chairs with a Citronella candle between us, and drinking moon tea (i.e., sun tea, but without the nasty health issues).
It's been a pretty busy but fun weekend so far: Friday night found us at A&G Restaurant for Greek Night, then after that, over to Wal-Mart for some preliminary shopping for the 4th of July camping trip. Since I only have that day off, we're hoping to spend the evening of July 3rd and the 4th out at Mozingo Lake, camping out and hiking (Lauren's planning to bring the stovetop espresso pot so we can have morning coffee), and ultimately, later that evening we'll be able to view the fireworks.
Later that evening found us heading down to the local Orscheln's farm store for their Midnight Madness sale to keep the kitties in cat kibble. We also had to wait out the rainstorm that started right after we arrived, which we were glad for, as Lauren's garden got a good watering, too.
This morning, we continued our morning distance walks; equipped with camelbacks for water, we walked out of town to Gray's Truckstop and Cafe for a light late-morning lunch (with accompanying nap afterward). Now this sounds pretty tame. However, the walk out to Gray's is 4.5 miles, while the walk back was approximately 4 miles, so we walked a total of 8.5 miles with lunch break (which tends to blow local people's minds, because most people simply drive out there). This marks (for me) the longest sustained walk I've done since driving cattle on the family farm, but it pales besides the walk Lauren did on Friday, as she's now up 10.5 miles, which means she did back to back long walks two days in a row.
Later in the afternoon, we went down to the local John Deere dealership, which was the home site of the local Heart of America tractor cruise. We watched the tractors (most of them 1930s to 1960's era models) return from the cruise, which went out to Clyde (near Conception Junction), and back to Maryville, finally parading around the square and then back up 71 Highway to the dealership; the accompanying BBQ afterward was open to the public, and one of Lauren's coworkers' families was involved in organizing, so of course we went. Besides, the donations from the BBQ and cruise activities go toward Camp Quality, a local summer program for kids undergoing cancer treatments, so it was all for a good cause.
Having grown up with a farming background, it was fun explaining to Lauren some of the "what was whats" (i.e., this is a 3-point hitch, this was the kind(s) of tractors we used to drive, this tractor was made by this company before they got bought out by this company, etc.). However, just because I grew up driving them does not mean that I want to OWN one ... as I pointed out to Lauren, where would we put it???
I suspect tomorrow, apart from church and a minimum of laundry and housecleaning, will involve quite a bit of rest and recuperation from today's walk. A few days ago, I looked at the post from back in January with our New Year's resolutions, and it looks like both of us have gotten around to fulfilling those. Lauren's was to walk an average of 3 miles a day (and she's now doing that, with an average of 5), and mine was to lose 5 pounds (which I've done aplenty, having dropped at least 20 so far).
It's been a pretty busy but fun weekend so far: Friday night found us at A&G Restaurant for Greek Night, then after that, over to Wal-Mart for some preliminary shopping for the 4th of July camping trip. Since I only have that day off, we're hoping to spend the evening of July 3rd and the 4th out at Mozingo Lake, camping out and hiking (Lauren's planning to bring the stovetop espresso pot so we can have morning coffee), and ultimately, later that evening we'll be able to view the fireworks.
Later that evening found us heading down to the local Orscheln's farm store for their Midnight Madness sale to keep the kitties in cat kibble. We also had to wait out the rainstorm that started right after we arrived, which we were glad for, as Lauren's garden got a good watering, too.
This morning, we continued our morning distance walks; equipped with camelbacks for water, we walked out of town to Gray's Truckstop and Cafe for a light late-morning lunch (with accompanying nap afterward). Now this sounds pretty tame. However, the walk out to Gray's is 4.5 miles, while the walk back was approximately 4 miles, so we walked a total of 8.5 miles with lunch break (which tends to blow local people's minds, because most people simply drive out there). This marks (for me) the longest sustained walk I've done since driving cattle on the family farm, but it pales besides the walk Lauren did on Friday, as she's now up 10.5 miles, which means she did back to back long walks two days in a row.
Later in the afternoon, we went down to the local John Deere dealership, which was the home site of the local Heart of America tractor cruise. We watched the tractors (most of them 1930s to 1960's era models) return from the cruise, which went out to Clyde (near Conception Junction), and back to Maryville, finally parading around the square and then back up 71 Highway to the dealership; the accompanying BBQ afterward was open to the public, and one of Lauren's coworkers' families was involved in organizing, so of course we went. Besides, the donations from the BBQ and cruise activities go toward Camp Quality, a local summer program for kids undergoing cancer treatments, so it was all for a good cause.
Having grown up with a farming background, it was fun explaining to Lauren some of the "what was whats" (i.e., this is a 3-point hitch, this was the kind(s) of tractors we used to drive, this tractor was made by this company before they got bought out by this company, etc.). However, just because I grew up driving them does not mean that I want to OWN one ... as I pointed out to Lauren, where would we put it???
I suspect tomorrow, apart from church and a minimum of laundry and housecleaning, will involve quite a bit of rest and recuperation from today's walk. A few days ago, I looked at the post from back in January with our New Year's resolutions, and it looks like both of us have gotten around to fulfilling those. Lauren's was to walk an average of 3 miles a day (and she's now doing that, with an average of 5), and mine was to lose 5 pounds (which I've done aplenty, having dropped at least 20 so far).
Sunday, June 17, 2007
High School Reunion, Take 2
Lauren and I got back from SE Kansas earlier this afternoon, where we spent an enjoyable day at my reunion, and the following morning.
We actually showed up for part 2 of the reunion, which took place out at the Greenbush Gazebo and was a potluck (apparently, we had one of the few picnic areas that was still available that day, between the various reunions and other activities in the area). All told, roughly 14 classmates, plus their spouses and kids, showed up ... not bad, considering that only 24 people showed up for the dinner and dance the night before, and some of the same people showed up to both events.
Anyhoo, all in all, we had a great time. Lauren got to meet "the gang" that I hung out with in high school. We've all gotten older, some of us the worse for wear, but all in all, everyone's still hanging in there.
Showing Some Class (l-r): Richard Potts, Donna Martin (nee Oplotnik), me, Mark Viets, Micah Joy, John Nepote, Anita Bradshaw (sorry, Anita, can't remember your married name), Cindy Vulgamore (nee Humble), Guy Spieth, Pattie (was Mitchell), Eric Duncan, Cindy (was Kennedy), Dean Davied, and John Vulgamore.
Micah watching Balin, while Guy takes a call from his girlfriend.
The "Gang": Guy, John, Micah, Eric, and me. Lauren remarked that this picture made us look like a "bad rap group". And Guy's taking another call from his girlfriend. Oh well ....
Highlights:
After the reunion closed out at 2, Lauren and I took a side trip. Since I hadn't been home for any length of time in awhile (despite the brief trip back last summer), Lauren and I stopped off in Brazilton, where we visited the cemetary from my family's old (now gone) Lutheran church in the country to pay respects (especially to my Dad's plot, to see how it was holding up ... after all, it was Father's Day weekend, perversely enough).
After that, we stopped off to visit with Earl and Iona Bredehoeft, who had been friends of Dad, and we got to take a brief tour of the one-room schoolhouse that the two have been restoring over the years.
Finally, we headed over to Pittsburg for dinner at Chicken Mary's with Micah and Guy, and then we were on our way to Fort Scott, KS, about 22 miles away. With the hotels in Pittsburg booked, and Lauren being a fan of bed and breakfasts, we stayed at the Courtland Hotel and Day Spa.
The Courtland was a former 1906 railroad hotel (that is, it was mostly for the use of railroad staff and employees who were overnighting in Fort Scott and only needed a private bedroom) that has now been converted into an elegant bed and breakfast and day spa.
An outdoor pic of the Courtland, about a block away from the Fort Scott National Historic Site (the old Dragoon fort).
Lobby, Just Off the Front Desk
The Hallway. Note the punched-tin work on the ceiling.
Reading Nook
The Dining Room
All told, we had a great weekend, and with Eric now living in KC, it looks like future meet-ups down there are likely.
We actually showed up for part 2 of the reunion, which took place out at the Greenbush Gazebo and was a potluck (apparently, we had one of the few picnic areas that was still available that day, between the various reunions and other activities in the area). All told, roughly 14 classmates, plus their spouses and kids, showed up ... not bad, considering that only 24 people showed up for the dinner and dance the night before, and some of the same people showed up to both events.
Anyhoo, all in all, we had a great time. Lauren got to meet "the gang" that I hung out with in high school. We've all gotten older, some of us the worse for wear, but all in all, everyone's still hanging in there.
Showing Some Class (l-r): Richard Potts, Donna Martin (nee Oplotnik), me, Mark Viets, Micah Joy, John Nepote, Anita Bradshaw (sorry, Anita, can't remember your married name), Cindy Vulgamore (nee Humble), Guy Spieth, Pattie (was Mitchell), Eric Duncan, Cindy (was Kennedy), Dean Davied, and John Vulgamore.
Micah watching Balin, while Guy takes a call from his girlfriend.
The "Gang": Guy, John, Micah, Eric, and me. Lauren remarked that this picture made us look like a "bad rap group". And Guy's taking another call from his girlfriend. Oh well ....
Highlights:
- Eric Duncan showing off his new Lotus sports car.
- Meeting Micah's adopted son, Balin, for the first time.
- John Nepote describing what happened "the night before" at the other half of the reunion.
- John Vulgamore showing off his "hog" ... his pride and joy Harley.
- Anita Bradshaw's husband bringing his classic teal green 1964 Ford Galaxie convertable.
- Catching up with everyone and realizing that, yeah, it's been 20 years, and while some of the old animosities still exist, a lot of that has been left behind.
After the reunion closed out at 2, Lauren and I took a side trip. Since I hadn't been home for any length of time in awhile (despite the brief trip back last summer), Lauren and I stopped off in Brazilton, where we visited the cemetary from my family's old (now gone) Lutheran church in the country to pay respects (especially to my Dad's plot, to see how it was holding up ... after all, it was Father's Day weekend, perversely enough).
After that, we stopped off to visit with Earl and Iona Bredehoeft, who had been friends of Dad, and we got to take a brief tour of the one-room schoolhouse that the two have been restoring over the years.
Finally, we headed over to Pittsburg for dinner at Chicken Mary's with Micah and Guy, and then we were on our way to Fort Scott, KS, about 22 miles away. With the hotels in Pittsburg booked, and Lauren being a fan of bed and breakfasts, we stayed at the Courtland Hotel and Day Spa.
The Courtland was a former 1906 railroad hotel (that is, it was mostly for the use of railroad staff and employees who were overnighting in Fort Scott and only needed a private bedroom) that has now been converted into an elegant bed and breakfast and day spa.
An outdoor pic of the Courtland, about a block away from the Fort Scott National Historic Site (the old Dragoon fort).
Lobby, Just Off the Front Desk
The Hallway. Note the punched-tin work on the ceiling.
Reading Nook
The Dining Room
All told, we had a great weekend, and with Eric now living in KC, it looks like future meet-ups down there are likely.
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
High School Reunions
This weekend, barring flash floods or a rainout, we're headed down to Kansas for my 20-year high school reunion. I didn't go to my 5th or my 10th, simply because I didn't want to re-experience high school: namely, the same exclusionary cliques, the same brash arrogance, and above all, the same gang trying to prove they could still hold their beers. I left all of that when I graduated, and didn't want to experience it again.
This time may be different; I'm going because the group I hung out with in high school will all be there:
Micah Joy, the best man at my wedding and longtime friend
Guy Spieth, who although I found his taste in books (the Gor series, anyone?) questionable, is still a decent guy
John Vulgamore, who somehow managed to get married before any of us (to a fellow classmate, no less), and
Eric Duncan, computer whiz and European sports car lover from early on, who now probably makes more money than all of us in the IT field.
We'll have pictures in a later post.
This time may be different; I'm going because the group I hung out with in high school will all be there:
Micah Joy, the best man at my wedding and longtime friend
Guy Spieth, who although I found his taste in books (the Gor series, anyone?) questionable, is still a decent guy
John Vulgamore, who somehow managed to get married before any of us (to a fellow classmate, no less), and
Eric Duncan, computer whiz and European sports car lover from early on, who now probably makes more money than all of us in the IT field.
We'll have pictures in a later post.
Thursday, June 07, 2007
Welcome to Summer
Sorry for the gaps between postings, but it's been a busy couple of weeks: busy because rather than getting a couple of days during the plant shutdown, I actually got to work both weeks (including Saturday, to make up for the holiday on Monday), and I will even get a small bit of overtime thrown in as well. At least I had Memorial Day off, and the weather stayed good enough to grill out a few times.
What I'm currently doing at the plant involves cleaning. Lots of cleaning, in the upper machine bay levels of the plant called the "High Bay", where the raw ingredients for making the insides and outsides of batteries (especially the graphite mix used for the outer casing that surrounds the metal core cannister and the graphite/metallic mix which makes up part of the chemical reaction that allows your Energizer battery to work) are piped, filtered, blended, and then fed into the moulding machines on the ground floor.
Yes, it's graphite. The same stuff that goes into tennis rackets. The same stuff that makes up the inner cores of pencils worldwide. And it sticks to everything. Despite the disposible clean suits we're issued, it leaves one dirty ... so much so that at the end of the work day, the second shower has become another ritual for me. We're hoping that with the various new equipment installs done over the last two weeks, the bay will become a bit less dustier and make my job easier (and perhaps cleaner).
So now it's June here, and it's getting warmer. Fortunately, Woodgie has been able to garden quite a bit and start up her worm farm (in case you hadn't guessed, Woodgie is as much of an organic gardener as possible). The worm farm, we hope, will provide some good ongoing soil treatment for the raised garden beds. Ultimately, it will also provide a source of fishing worms for when Lauren and I are able to get out to Mozingo and go fishing.
Also with summer brings a couple of traveling opportunities: next weekend, Lauren and I will head back to my hometown for my 20 year high school reunion. We'll miss the dinner and dance on Friday night, but Saturday, we'll be heading down for a picnic and meet and greet (which is more my speed than the beer bash on Friday night). Then, the last weekend of the month, we'll be heading back up to Des Moines for an impromptu post-wedding reception that two of my Tai Chi friends are throwing; this will allow everyone up there who didn't get a chance to come to the wedding (or who we couldn't invite, due to the small size of the church), to visit and bring gifts if they want. Following that, the book club gang will do their usual yearly solstice gathering and campout that evening.
And then next month, Woodgie is done with her classes, but after the 4th, which we hope to spend out at Mozingo Lake camping and fishing, the following week, Lauren will be joining several others from our church for a week long mission trip up to a South Dakota Indian reservation at the local Episcopal mission church. Since I'm stuck on a weekly work schedule and have no vacation, we've decided that I'm going to be the one staying home and tending the cats. Eventually, Woodgie will be visiting student interns in a few locations ... most of them are local, but one is down in KC, so a road-trip there may be in order.
And what I'm waiting for at the end of July is the release of this.
All in all, it's going to be a busy summer for both of us.
What I'm currently doing at the plant involves cleaning. Lots of cleaning, in the upper machine bay levels of the plant called the "High Bay", where the raw ingredients for making the insides and outsides of batteries (especially the graphite mix used for the outer casing that surrounds the metal core cannister and the graphite/metallic mix which makes up part of the chemical reaction that allows your Energizer battery to work) are piped, filtered, blended, and then fed into the moulding machines on the ground floor.
Yes, it's graphite. The same stuff that goes into tennis rackets. The same stuff that makes up the inner cores of pencils worldwide. And it sticks to everything. Despite the disposible clean suits we're issued, it leaves one dirty ... so much so that at the end of the work day, the second shower has become another ritual for me. We're hoping that with the various new equipment installs done over the last two weeks, the bay will become a bit less dustier and make my job easier (and perhaps cleaner).
So now it's June here, and it's getting warmer. Fortunately, Woodgie has been able to garden quite a bit and start up her worm farm (in case you hadn't guessed, Woodgie is as much of an organic gardener as possible). The worm farm, we hope, will provide some good ongoing soil treatment for the raised garden beds. Ultimately, it will also provide a source of fishing worms for when Lauren and I are able to get out to Mozingo and go fishing.
Also with summer brings a couple of traveling opportunities: next weekend, Lauren and I will head back to my hometown for my 20 year high school reunion. We'll miss the dinner and dance on Friday night, but Saturday, we'll be heading down for a picnic and meet and greet (which is more my speed than the beer bash on Friday night). Then, the last weekend of the month, we'll be heading back up to Des Moines for an impromptu post-wedding reception that two of my Tai Chi friends are throwing; this will allow everyone up there who didn't get a chance to come to the wedding (or who we couldn't invite, due to the small size of the church), to visit and bring gifts if they want. Following that, the book club gang will do their usual yearly solstice gathering and campout that evening.
And then next month, Woodgie is done with her classes, but after the 4th, which we hope to spend out at Mozingo Lake camping and fishing, the following week, Lauren will be joining several others from our church for a week long mission trip up to a South Dakota Indian reservation at the local Episcopal mission church. Since I'm stuck on a weekly work schedule and have no vacation, we've decided that I'm going to be the one staying home and tending the cats. Eventually, Woodgie will be visiting student interns in a few locations ... most of them are local, but one is down in KC, so a road-trip there may be in order.
And what I'm waiting for at the end of July is the release of this.
All in all, it's going to be a busy summer for both of us.
Saturday, May 26, 2007
Rainy Saturday
It's the rainy season again here in Maryville this weekend, making a rainy Memorial Day for us and causing us to cancel plans to go camping out at Mozingo Lake. Instead, Woodgie's been doing some morning gardening between the overnight rains and the mid-morning rains, plus some maintenance (filter cleaning) on the watercourse in the back yard.
After that was done, we headed over to the Galaxy Store, a Mennonite-run bulk and discount grocery out near Wilcox, MO, for some grocery and household item shopping. A big find for us (especially since we're now up to two cats and two kittens in the household), was a large and cheap bulk bag of multi-cat cat food. In the greater scheme of things, that may not mean much, but when you have two cats and two kittens looking up at you trying to decide what YOUR protein value may be, it's a find.
We're hoping that we get a break in the rain this weekend so we can grill outdoors either this evening or tomorrow. EDIT: Given the rumble of thunder off in the distance at 4:30, we're now thinking this will be tomorrow or Monday instead.
Otherwise, it's rest and relaxation for both of us through Monday: we'll be staying in, watching Star Trek Remastered tonight and then some anime later on, and otherwise just staying in and enjoying the break. Hopefully, even with the latest rains, we won't have to pull out those plans we bought off the Internet for an ark ;-).
Seriously, it looks like I'll be working a couple of days during the plant shutdown pulling some overtime, with the possibility of more than a couple of days. I'm hoping that if I can get at least a full week of OT, I'll make enough that the shutdown won't hurt the cash flow that much. And in the meantime, I can continue my job search for a better job.
After that was done, we headed over to the Galaxy Store, a Mennonite-run bulk and discount grocery out near Wilcox, MO, for some grocery and household item shopping. A big find for us (especially since we're now up to two cats and two kittens in the household), was a large and cheap bulk bag of multi-cat cat food. In the greater scheme of things, that may not mean much, but when you have two cats and two kittens looking up at you trying to decide what YOUR protein value may be, it's a find.
We're hoping that we get a break in the rain this weekend so we can grill outdoors either this evening or tomorrow. EDIT: Given the rumble of thunder off in the distance at 4:30, we're now thinking this will be tomorrow or Monday instead.
Otherwise, it's rest and relaxation for both of us through Monday: we'll be staying in, watching Star Trek Remastered tonight and then some anime later on, and otherwise just staying in and enjoying the break. Hopefully, even with the latest rains, we won't have to pull out those plans we bought off the Internet for an ark ;-).
Seriously, it looks like I'll be working a couple of days during the plant shutdown pulling some overtime, with the possibility of more than a couple of days. I'm hoping that if I can get at least a full week of OT, I'll make enough that the shutdown won't hurt the cash flow that much. And in the meantime, I can continue my job search for a better job.
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Plant sale at the Plant House! (Cheshirekitty blog)
Ok, you know what I did this afternoon...herbs were selling for $1.40 a piece at the Plant House here in Maryville (down from $3.99, which as we all know reads as "$4.00), so I bought a few more herbs:
Two Red Rubin basil and two garden basil which are in the rose garden, of all things, in a bench/double planter. They are keeping their companion plant trifetti pepper company. (I'm not sure you can tell this from the picture, but trifettis are variegated plants with hot purple peppers).
Two French tarragon to supplement the scrawny tarragon I rediscovered when digging up and renovating the herb garden. Note to gardeners: Do not buy tarragon seeds expecting good tarragon. French tarragon, the culinary kind, is sterile and can only propagate by cuttings. Any tarragon seeds you buy would be for Russian tarragon, which tastes like, well, a weed.
One "The Best" mint, which replaces a lackluster mint colloquially known as "Alex mint", for the ex-boyfriend who insisted he was growing peppermint from seed.
One garden sage, to keep the purple sage company.
While I was in the herb garden, I found more stray curly mint and chocolate mint and planted them in their respective sunken pots. I am hoping the containment scheme keeps my herb garden from being a free-for-all, with the oregano the clear victor.
Just in -- a severe thunderstorm watch till 8 PM. Guess the new plants will get watered soon!
Two Red Rubin basil and two garden basil which are in the rose garden, of all things, in a bench/double planter. They are keeping their companion plant trifetti pepper company. (I'm not sure you can tell this from the picture, but trifettis are variegated plants with hot purple peppers).
Two French tarragon to supplement the scrawny tarragon I rediscovered when digging up and renovating the herb garden. Note to gardeners: Do not buy tarragon seeds expecting good tarragon. French tarragon, the culinary kind, is sterile and can only propagate by cuttings. Any tarragon seeds you buy would be for Russian tarragon, which tastes like, well, a weed.
One "The Best" mint, which replaces a lackluster mint colloquially known as "Alex mint", for the ex-boyfriend who insisted he was growing peppermint from seed.
One garden sage, to keep the purple sage company.
While I was in the herb garden, I found more stray curly mint and chocolate mint and planted them in their respective sunken pots. I am hoping the containment scheme keeps my herb garden from being a free-for-all, with the oregano the clear victor.
Just in -- a severe thunderstorm watch till 8 PM. Guess the new plants will get watered soon!
Sunday, May 20, 2007
One More Kitten
And this just in ... on a spur of the moment decision, we've adopted another kitten. A couple of weeks ago on our way back from a neighborhood walk, one of our neighbor's grandkids introduced us to a couple of darling cute kittens. Four weeks old and all females (the local male tomcat had unfortunately found and killed the males of the litter), they were in decent health and had barely been weaned.
Four weeks later, the mom appeared to be having issues nursing and was losing weight, so today, the neighbors relucantly decided to give away the kittens to the neighbors (including us), and take their cat to the vet.
After holding each of them to be sure of which one we wanted, we're (perhaps temporarily, perhaps permanently if the other cats will accept her down the road) now the proud owners of yet another kitten, a Domestic Shorthair (gray tabby and white) that we've named Mimi. If the other cats accept her, then we've gotten another member of the household. If not, then Woodgie thinks that we'll be able to foster Mimi until we can find someone else to take her.
EDIT: After some discussion, the new kitten's name is actually spelled Meme (but pronounced "me-me", as in the name), and of course, she is named for the concept of Internet memes and in particular, the cat macro meme.
Four weeks later, the mom appeared to be having issues nursing and was losing weight, so today, the neighbors relucantly decided to give away the kittens to the neighbors (including us), and take their cat to the vet.
After holding each of them to be sure of which one we wanted, we're (perhaps temporarily, perhaps permanently if the other cats will accept her down the road) now the proud owners of yet another kitten, a Domestic Shorthair (gray tabby and white) that we've named Mimi. If the other cats accept her, then we've gotten another member of the household. If not, then Woodgie thinks that we'll be able to foster Mimi until we can find someone else to take her.
EDIT: After some discussion, the new kitten's name is actually spelled Meme (but pronounced "me-me", as in the name), and of course, she is named for the concept of Internet memes and in particular, the cat macro meme.
Sleepy Sunday
It's a sleepy Sunday here in Maryville. Most of the weekend plans (heading to Bedford on Saturday, etc.) were cancelled as Lauren's still recuperating from laryngitis, so we stayed home from church and vegged out a bit, apart from doing a little bit of chaos control in the living room.
If the weather cooperates (i.e., if the rain holds off), I may grill out later this evening.
If the weather cooperates (i.e., if the rain holds off), I may grill out later this evening.
Thursday, May 17, 2007
Absent Posting
You've probably been wondering why we haven't posted a weblog entry in awhile ... there are a couple of reasons for this:
1)Since I'm working full-time now (or at least, until the plant goes into scheduled shutdown two weeks from now), I haven't had as much free time to post. Usually, by the time I get home at 3:30, it's time to rest a little bit and decide what to do for dinner (and then make dinner, if dinner involves staying at home vs. eating out).
2)Since the weather's improved a little bit, Lauren and I have started walking regularly, so we're both putting in about 5-6 miles per day; Lauren gets her morning mileage from walking to campus and back, while I'm getting mine from work: I took a pedometer to work one day, and based off of that, Lauren estimates that I'm getting about 3 miles per day there. The other 2 to 3 miles we get from our evening walks to Hy-Vee for dinner or elsewhere in town (we've found that Baskin-Robbins, not to mention $3.22 gas prices, are good motivators for a 2-mile round-trip walk ;-).
3)By the time we're done with that, it's usually about 8:00-ish, or just enough time to wind down, check e-mails, and surf the web for a little bit (in my case, continuing my job search). Given that I have to get up at 5:45 to pick up a coworker and be at work by 7, and Lauren has to be up and around so she can walk to school to teach her 7:30 morning classes, it's usually lights out by 9:30ish for both of us.
Anyhoo, Lauren is done teaching for the week, which is good because she's developed a case of laryngitis. Hopefully, she'll recover by Monday for her classes. In the meantime, this gives her the opportunity to rest and continue exploring the world of "image macros" on the web: otherwise known as LOL cats, these are usually Internet memes involving Photoshopped (and funny) captions onto pictures of disgustingly cute cats:
Examples abound here at: http://www.icanhascheezburger.com
Speaking of recovering, I've belatedly discovered (with Woodgie's help), that I seem to have developed (or have developed over the last few years) a case of sleep apnea, which would account for a few things:
1)My near-legendary inability to get up in the mornings, especially in wintertime.
2)Why my snoring seems to have gone from very mild to very loud (annoying Woodgie to no end and, despite my use of Breathe Right strips, almost causing her to sleep on the couch).
3)Why I seemed to be unable to have or rarely remember dreams ... this is probably because I've been unable to hit REM sleep long enough to have them.
Because of this, Woodgie has been asking (no, too mild ... demanding is more like it) that I start sleeping on my side, which seems to alleviate the symptoms, but causes me some mild discomfort as I try to position pillows "just so". Also, during the first couple of nights of sleeping on my side, I had dreams (and remembered them) for 3 nights in a row ... something that I have never done before.
Anyhoo ... that's the week so far; if Woodgie is up to it by then, this weekend should see us road-tripping up to Bedford, IA for their annual Iris Days festival on Saturday.
1)Since I'm working full-time now (or at least, until the plant goes into scheduled shutdown two weeks from now), I haven't had as much free time to post. Usually, by the time I get home at 3:30, it's time to rest a little bit and decide what to do for dinner (and then make dinner, if dinner involves staying at home vs. eating out).
2)Since the weather's improved a little bit, Lauren and I have started walking regularly, so we're both putting in about 5-6 miles per day; Lauren gets her morning mileage from walking to campus and back, while I'm getting mine from work: I took a pedometer to work one day, and based off of that, Lauren estimates that I'm getting about 3 miles per day there. The other 2 to 3 miles we get from our evening walks to Hy-Vee for dinner or elsewhere in town (we've found that Baskin-Robbins, not to mention $3.22 gas prices, are good motivators for a 2-mile round-trip walk ;-).
3)By the time we're done with that, it's usually about 8:00-ish, or just enough time to wind down, check e-mails, and surf the web for a little bit (in my case, continuing my job search). Given that I have to get up at 5:45 to pick up a coworker and be at work by 7, and Lauren has to be up and around so she can walk to school to teach her 7:30 morning classes, it's usually lights out by 9:30ish for both of us.
Anyhoo, Lauren is done teaching for the week, which is good because she's developed a case of laryngitis. Hopefully, she'll recover by Monday for her classes. In the meantime, this gives her the opportunity to rest and continue exploring the world of "image macros" on the web: otherwise known as LOL cats, these are usually Internet memes involving Photoshopped (and funny) captions onto pictures of disgustingly cute cats:
Examples abound here at: http://www.icanhascheezburger.com
Speaking of recovering, I've belatedly discovered (with Woodgie's help), that I seem to have developed (or have developed over the last few years) a case of sleep apnea, which would account for a few things:
1)My near-legendary inability to get up in the mornings, especially in wintertime.
2)Why my snoring seems to have gone from very mild to very loud (annoying Woodgie to no end and, despite my use of Breathe Right strips, almost causing her to sleep on the couch).
3)Why I seemed to be unable to have or rarely remember dreams ... this is probably because I've been unable to hit REM sleep long enough to have them.
Because of this, Woodgie has been asking (no, too mild ... demanding is more like it) that I start sleeping on my side, which seems to alleviate the symptoms, but causes me some mild discomfort as I try to position pillows "just so". Also, during the first couple of nights of sleeping on my side, I had dreams (and remembered them) for 3 nights in a row ... something that I have never done before.
Anyhoo ... that's the week so far; if Woodgie is up to it by then, this weekend should see us road-tripping up to Bedford, IA for their annual Iris Days festival on Saturday.
Thursday, May 03, 2007
Cheshirekitty speaks: My week of gardening
I don't write in here often, because Richard is far better than I am at documenting day-to-day reality here in the Cozy Kittys' Household. But it's my week off between semesters, and it's drizzling outside -- which curtails my usual May activity of starting up the gardens.
I must admit, I think I am hyperactive. Literally -- ADHD, heavy on the H, light on the ADD. Also known as "predominantly hyperactive type ADHD". I prefer to think of it as "neurodiversity". I've never been formally diagnosed, but have been informally diagnosed by everyone who knows me. I think I get it from my dad -- he can't sit still, and has to be doing something else -- even reading -- at the same time he watches TV.
I can't really sit still either, until I get tired enough that I fall over. So my "vacation" has consisted of the following:
1) Fixing the watercourse/pond. The watercourse was leaking water badly -- it would bleed itself dry overnight, which is not good for water plants or fishies. I discovered that natural ground shifting had created a gap between the watercourse liner and the pond liner, which allowed water to leak under the pond liner. In addition, upon reading how to create a watercourse (which, I admit, I should have done BEFORE installing the original watercourse last summer), I realized that I should have sealed seams. So Richard and I cut a patch to join the now-skewed elements of the pond, and sealed seams with EPDM tape, black caulk, and waterfall foam. The watercourse is now up and running, and has lost no volume in two days.
2) Planting the watercourse. The whole reason I wanted a watercourse, other than to make the small deep pond and shallow overflow look less like a well, was to provide running water to plant watercress and Vietnamese coriander, two plants which require a lot of fresh water. I have not received my Vietnamese coriander yet (it's on order from Richters.com, I believe) but watercress seeds have been planted.
3) Enlarged the borders of the moon garden by about 18 inches on each side. I am learning, through my trial-and-error garden design experiments, that I think too small in the initial project stage. Hence the too-small pond, the too-small front border, and the too-small moon garden.
I also planted jasmine tobacco and woodland tobacco (plantlets and seeds), night phlox (seeds), evening-scented stock (seeds), moonflower (seeds) and white dame's rocket (seeds). I will also get a couple of white datura plants and a John F. Kennedy rose to complete the picture, and maybe some fuzzy foliage from "Helen Von Stein" stachys. These plants join the perennial "David" phlox and autumn clematis already there. If you're getting the impression that all in this garden is white and most of it smells good, that's the purpose of a moon garden.
4) Planting beans, cukes, and nasturtiums in the raised beds. The beans this year are Hunan winged bean for Asian cooking, and two runner beans for green beans, shell beans, and edible flowers -- "Scarlet runner" and "Sunset". The cuke this year -- I am picky about cukes, and don't feel secure enough to grow Asian or European cukes yet -- is "Sweetest Yet". I'm skeptical; we shall see. Nasturtiums (happy salad greens and edible flowers) are "Dwarf Jewel Mix", "Whirlybird Mahogany", and "Peach Melba". I ran out of nasturtium seeds before doing the center bed, which still needs to have a debris burn before planting out with squash and melons.
5) Planting herbs. Joining the mints, oregano, and edible flowers in the new herb bed is midget savory, borage, golden feverfew, dill, and rosemary. No picture links here because herbs aren't as exciting to look at.
6) Weeding. Enough said.
7) Starting production on two Anglican rosaries. I figured another new hobby was needed to watch TV by.
8) Assorted school paperwork including setting up course sites and writing up a human subjects form for some new research.
And this was my week off. That's okay, it's only Thursday, and I've run out of stuff to do. Naptime!
I must admit, I think I am hyperactive. Literally -- ADHD, heavy on the H, light on the ADD. Also known as "predominantly hyperactive type ADHD". I prefer to think of it as "neurodiversity". I've never been formally diagnosed, but have been informally diagnosed by everyone who knows me. I think I get it from my dad -- he can't sit still, and has to be doing something else -- even reading -- at the same time he watches TV.
I can't really sit still either, until I get tired enough that I fall over. So my "vacation" has consisted of the following:
1) Fixing the watercourse/pond. The watercourse was leaking water badly -- it would bleed itself dry overnight, which is not good for water plants or fishies. I discovered that natural ground shifting had created a gap between the watercourse liner and the pond liner, which allowed water to leak under the pond liner. In addition, upon reading how to create a watercourse (which, I admit, I should have done BEFORE installing the original watercourse last summer), I realized that I should have sealed seams. So Richard and I cut a patch to join the now-skewed elements of the pond, and sealed seams with EPDM tape, black caulk, and waterfall foam. The watercourse is now up and running, and has lost no volume in two days.
2) Planting the watercourse. The whole reason I wanted a watercourse, other than to make the small deep pond and shallow overflow look less like a well, was to provide running water to plant watercress and Vietnamese coriander, two plants which require a lot of fresh water. I have not received my Vietnamese coriander yet (it's on order from Richters.com, I believe) but watercress seeds have been planted.
3) Enlarged the borders of the moon garden by about 18 inches on each side. I am learning, through my trial-and-error garden design experiments, that I think too small in the initial project stage. Hence the too-small pond, the too-small front border, and the too-small moon garden.
I also planted jasmine tobacco and woodland tobacco (plantlets and seeds), night phlox (seeds), evening-scented stock (seeds), moonflower (seeds) and white dame's rocket (seeds). I will also get a couple of white datura plants and a John F. Kennedy rose to complete the picture, and maybe some fuzzy foliage from "Helen Von Stein" stachys. These plants join the perennial "David" phlox and autumn clematis already there. If you're getting the impression that all in this garden is white and most of it smells good, that's the purpose of a moon garden.
4) Planting beans, cukes, and nasturtiums in the raised beds. The beans this year are Hunan winged bean for Asian cooking, and two runner beans for green beans, shell beans, and edible flowers -- "Scarlet runner" and "Sunset". The cuke this year -- I am picky about cukes, and don't feel secure enough to grow Asian or European cukes yet -- is "Sweetest Yet". I'm skeptical; we shall see. Nasturtiums (happy salad greens and edible flowers) are "Dwarf Jewel Mix", "Whirlybird Mahogany", and "Peach Melba". I ran out of nasturtium seeds before doing the center bed, which still needs to have a debris burn before planting out with squash and melons.
5) Planting herbs. Joining the mints, oregano, and edible flowers in the new herb bed is midget savory, borage, golden feverfew, dill, and rosemary. No picture links here because herbs aren't as exciting to look at.
6) Weeding. Enough said.
7) Starting production on two Anglican rosaries. I figured another new hobby was needed to watch TV by.
8) Assorted school paperwork including setting up course sites and writing up a human subjects form for some new research.
And this was my week off. That's okay, it's only Thursday, and I've run out of stuff to do. Naptime!
Sunday, April 29, 2007
Graduation
This weekend's been quite busy for both of us, between graduation, mowing, and cleaning the house.
Oh yeah ... and recovering from my first day on the job. I may not have been the fastest trainee, but I managed to make it through the shift. Some thoughts on that:
Manufacturing work is like being inside a casino: there are no clocks in the manufacturing area, which means you tend to lose track of time. The shift went from 7 until 3, with a morning break and a lunch break, but it felt longer.
Of course, when you spend several hours packing boxes, loading double AA batteries into blister packs, or loading the blister packs into the rotary turntable to be sealed, it does wear on you.
Lauren got to do something special, however: she carried the banner for her college and led the undergraduates into the arena for graduation:
Oh yeah ... and recovering from my first day on the job. I may not have been the fastest trainee, but I managed to make it through the shift. Some thoughts on that:
Manufacturing work is like being inside a casino: there are no clocks in the manufacturing area, which means you tend to lose track of time. The shift went from 7 until 3, with a morning break and a lunch break, but it felt longer.
Of course, when you spend several hours packing boxes, loading double AA batteries into blister packs, or loading the blister packs into the rotary turntable to be sealed, it does wear on you.
Lauren got to do something special, however: she carried the banner for her college and led the undergraduates into the arena for graduation:
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
